31 replies to this topic

[Kelly]

http://www.chieftain...-court-interest

Federal court document IDs person of interest in missing woman case

by robert boczkiewicz the pueblo chieftain
Published: August 24, 2015; Last modified: August 24, 2015 09:04PM

DENVER — Pueblo police, through their attourney, say they have a “person of interest” in their investigation into the disappearance two years ago of Kelsie Schelling in Pueblo.

Police, in a court document filed by their attorney, state that “Donthe Lucas is a person of interest in that investigation.”

The document was filed Friday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Deputy Chief Andy McLachlan, Sgt. Ken Espinoza, Detective Neal Robinson, and the city of Pueblo.

They are defendants in a lawsuit filed in February by Laura Saxton and Doug Schelling, parents of Kelsie Schelling.

She was 22 when she disappeared in February 2013.

The lawsuit alleges that Lucas was the father of Schelling’s unborn child and that he caused her death.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 reported in February that McLachlan said that Lucas “has never been a person of interest.”

In January 2014, Pueblo police said in a social media posting that “Ms. Schelling’s boyfriend has been, and continues to be a person of interest.”

The new court document does not elaborate on why Lucas is a person of interest.

The lawsuit alleges Pueblo police have obstructed the investigation of Schelling’s disappearance and lied to the parents.

Lucas and three members of his family, all of Pueblo, also are defendants in the lawsuit. It alleges that his family members “conspired with (him) or acted as an accomplice.”

None of the defendants have filed in court their response to the allegations.

Police said in January 2014 that their investigators “are dedicated professionals . . . who will continue to look at every lead . . . until this case is solved.”

The police defendants and the city have asked for the lawsuit against them to be dismissed. Until a judge rules on that request, the case is on hold against them.

The Lucas family defendants are representing themselves without attorneys.

Monday, at the first court hearing on the lawsuit, Magistrate Judge Michael Watanabe gave them until Sept. 24 to file their response to the allegations against them.

Schelling, a Denver resident, drove to Pueblo on Feb. 4, 2013, to discuss with Lucas her pregnancy, the lawsuit asserts, and has not been seen since.
 

[Kelly]

http://www.thedenver...court-documents

Kelsie Schelling's boyfriend named person of interest in her disappearance in new court documents
Schelling was 8 weeks pregnant when she vanished

 

Anica Padilla
6:38 AM, Aug 25, 2015
11:55 AM, Aug 25, 2015

PUEBLO, Colo. - New court documents show Kelsie Schelling's boyfriend is considered a person of interest in the case – which contradicts earlier claims by the Pueblo Police Department.

Schelling’s parents filed a lawsuit earlier this year accusing Donthe Lucas of "wrongful death" and Pueblo police investigators of "deliberately obstructing" the investigation of the "killing" of the pregnant Denver woman.

Schelling vanished on the night of Feb. 4, 2013, after she drove to Pueblo to meet her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, to tell him she was two months pregnant with his child, according to lawsuit.

Lucas, a 6-foot-8 former basketball star at Pueblo's Central High School and Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, has never been arrested or charged in connection with her disappearance or presumed death.

In new court documents, the lawyer representing the city and the officers named in the lawsuit said Lucas is a person of interest.

[Kelly]

http://www.krdo.com/...gation/35051858

Police chief discusses person of interest in Kelsie Schelling investigation

Michelle San Miguel, Multimedia Journalist - Pueblo Chieftain Bureau/Telemundo Anchor
POSTED: 07:08 PM MDT Sep 01, 2015 UPDATED: 07:21 PM MDT Sep 01, 2015

PUEBLO, Colo. -

Police Chief Luis Velez is setting the record straight about naming a person of interest in the disappearance of Keslie Schelling.

Schelling was eight weeks pregnant when she came to Pueblo in 2013 to meet with her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas. KRDO NewsChannel 13 reported last week that Lucas was named a person of interest in a federal court document. But Deputy Police Chief Andrew McLachlan said last week that Lucas was not a person of interest and that he didn't know why his lawyer wrote that when responding to a lawsuit filed by Schelling's parents. McLachlan is one of the defendants in the case.

When KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Velez why McLachlan said that, he replied that he didn't know. Velez said Lucas is a person of interest. KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Velez about the frustration that inconsistency created for Schelling's family.

"I can certainly see their point of view. I can tell them that in this police department, the buck stops with me," Velez said. "And do I think he's a person of interest? Absolutely."

Schelling's family filed a lawsuit earlier this year against several Pueblo police officers, accusing them of mishandling the case. Schelling's parents also say Donthe Lucas is responsible for their daughter's death.

[Kelly]

http://www.yumapione...=7126&Itemid=39

Missing Person's Day is February 4

Written by Tony Rayl
Friday, 29 January 2016

Denver -- Colorado’s General Assembly will recognize February 4th as "Missing Person's Day," through passage of a joint resolution and then, at 11:45 a.m. on the East Steps of the Capitol, a Prayer Vigil followed by a balloon launch honoring and remembering the over 300 still listed as missing in Colorado.

 

People like Kelsie Schelling, who has been missing since February 4th, 2013.

"This is about all the missing in Colorado and how short our state falls in their help to the missing or their families," said Kelsie’s mother, Laura Saxton.

 

"Missing Person's Day is something this state should be reminded of each and every year so that we as a civilized society continues to search for our neighbors and friends," added State Senator Jerry Sonnenberg (R-Sterling), sponsor of the resolution. "This resolution will set February 4th of each year as 'Missing Person's Day' so that we indeed never forget and never quit searching for each of those people."

 

"But 'Missing Person's Day' is not about statistics, it is about people that are our friends and neighbors," Sonnenberg continued.

 

Kelsie Schelling's case is one that is more common than anyone would like to admit yet the public seems to quickly forget in our fast paced lives. Statistics tell us that every 40 seconds another person becomes missing in this country. Over 300 families are still searching for their missing family members and lay in pain every night wondering and worrying where they may be and what may have happened to them.

[Kelly]

http://kdvr.com/2016...pport-and-help/

Families of missing persons gather at State Capitol for support and help

Posted 6:12 pm, February 4, 2016, by Web Staff

DENVER -- They are the faces that perhaps the headlines have forgotten. Dozens of families with loved ones still missing gathered at Colorado’s State Capitol for the first Missing Persons Day on Thursday.

Joint resolutions were passed in the House and Senate, and the names of the 300 missing persons in Colorado were read. Around noon, 300 yellow balloons were released on the east steps of the Capitol.

"Missing Persons Day is something this state should be reminded of each and every year so that we as a civilized society continues to search for our neighbors and friends," said State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, the sponsor of the resolution.

For the families gathered, having a day in which you are seemingly remembered appears to mean the world.

“It doesn’t get any easier. Time does not heal all wounds,” Laura Saxton said.

Saxton has been looking for her daughter Kelsie Schelling for three years.

“I just hope they all want us to come back each year,” Saxton said.

Some families traveled great distances to be at the State Capitol, including the family of Neal Keller, who flew to Denver. Neal has been looking for his son Joe since July.

“It’s all about getting information,” Keller said.

Keller is pushing for better training for rural police departments. He said his son went missing in Conejos County and feels if he went missing in a more staffed area, he might have been found.

Other issues that families brought forth include making police departments alert the public more quickly when someone goes missing. Another suggestion is more resources for cold cases.

“We have not spoken to police in over a year,” said Emily Torrez, family member of the missing Nicholle Torrez.

Currently, families say no major bills aimed at helping missing persons have been introduced in the General Assembly this session.

[Kelly]

http://www.krdo.com/...RjK-hM.facebook

People walk in honor of missing pregnant woman, her unborn baby

Carl Winder, Multimedia Journalist
POSTED: 04:14 PM MST Feb 06, 2016 UPDATED: 06:29 PM MST Feb 06, 2016

PUEBLO, Colo. -

Hundreds of people marched to remind the public of a missing pregnant woman and her unborn baby.

The 2nd annual "Justice Walk for Kelsie Schelling" happened Saturday.

The march is meant to honor not just Kelsie, but all families who have lost a loved one under mysterious circumstances.

Schelling went missing more than three years ago.

Schelling's mother Laura Saxton said she's happy for the support, especially in a hard time with her daughter missing, but the walk serves another purpose, "It's to get all the people out here and show that they support what we're doing, and to show that they're not happy with how things are being handled [by investigators]"

Schelling's parents accuse Donthe Lucas of killing their daughter.

They filed a federal lawsuit last year against the Pueblo Police Department, the City of Pueblo, and multiple members of the Lucas family.

Saxton says there will be a pretrial hearing for the lawsuit in October.

Schelling was last seen at the South-side Walmart in Pueblo.

[Kelly]

http://kdvr.com/2016...eceased-bodies/

Bill brings stricter punishments for tampering with deceased bodies

Posted 9:32 pm, April 7, 2016, by Kevin Torres, Updated at 07:42am, April 8, 2016

DENVER -- Punishment for tampering with a deceased body became stricter in Colorado on Thursday after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a new bill into law.

Before Thursday, the punishment was only a Class 6 felony, which is close to a misdemeanor, Republican State Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg said.

Sonnenberg sponsored the bill, but the person who spearheaded it was Laura Saxton.

Saxton’s daughter, Kelsie Schelling was killed three years ago. Her body has yet to be discovered.

“I’ve had so many defeats and disappointments over the last three years that this victory is hard fought, especially as it was,” Saxton said.

Saxton fought hard to get the bill passed, along with the support of other mothers who have lost children, like Elaine Hall.

Hall’s son Dylan Redwine was killed in southwest Colorado near Durango. A portion of his remains was discovered a few years ago.

“Being in the situation we’re all in, we see the rights of the perpetrators and not necessarily the rights of victims, which is our children,” Hall said.

Saxton stood behind Hickenlooper as he signed the bill into law. She said it baffled her the law wasn’t more severe to begin with.

“These are the bodies of victims. They have to have more value than a cellphone does,” she said. “To get it from a Class 6 felony up to a Class 3 felony, which is just under murder, is where it should be."

Saxton and Hall continue to fight for justice in their children’s deaths. Both cases remain unsolved.